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Academic Affairs

Michaele Whelan, Chief Academic Officer

The Chief Academic Officer (CAO) for Emerson College, Michaele Whelan, provides leadership for academic planning, program development at the undergraduate and graduate levels, assessment, advancement of scholarship, research and creative work, excellence in teaching, global engagement initiatives, and academic innovation including online learning. Responsible for advocating for and supporting faculty, the CAO ensures the academic rigor of the learning experiences at Emerson.

The principal areas of her responsibilities are:

the College’s academic programs, budget, and space including those located in the School of the Arts, School of Communication, the Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, the Graduate School

the Iwasaki Library

the Department of Professional Studies and Special Programs

the Office of Internationalization and Global Engagement including the Department of External Programs and Study Abroad, the Castle Well semester-abroad program, and International Student Services

Registrar

PLOUGHSHARES

the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship

Institutional Research

Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, and Academic Advising.

Michaele Whelan has a B.A., Summa Cum Laude, from Cornell University, and a M.A. and Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Harvard University. A humanist with over twenty years of experience in higher education, first in academic and then administrative roles, she has worked with school deans, faculty, students, staff and trustees to shape an academic vision and academic priorities for Brandeis University and Tufts University. She has taught in English departments and programs in American Studies and Women’s Studies at The Pennsylvania State University, Harvard University, Tufts and Brandeis. Her area of expertise is modern and postmodern American literature with a focus on gendered narratology. She is the recipient of teaching awards, has published in her field, and is a member of the academic honor societies Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi.

About Academic Affairs

The Office of Academic Affairs oversees all academic-related activities. It is responsible for academic policies and procedures, accreditation, strategic planning, assessment of student learning, faculty development, program reviews, and 22 academic departments and student support offices including two schools, seven academic departments, and ten graduate programs.